Past with death
by Snekarmyz
Summary: Mara Pendt was thought to be dead. She is very much alive and now her past with Gabriel Reyes is coming back to haunt her. First fanfic feel free to tell me if I can improve anything
1. Chapter 1

Backstory

Everyone has a backstory. Not because they need to, it's because that it's impossible not to. Your backstory is your history. It's all the things that brought you to where you are today. It's your memories and experiences. Mara Pendt has a backstory. She just didn't think about it. Because no matter what, your backstory includes pain. Hers included a lot of pain. But that's wat helps us grow. Pain brought Mara to where she is today. And she wouldn't change a thing about it.

The first thing you need to understand about Mara is that she doesn't stand out in a crowd. She once had hair that faded from a light turquoise to teal in a long braid that cascaded down her back. She once had slightly tan skin with a tattoo of a barn owl on her left arm. Sometimes she remembered seeing her dark green eyes in the reflection of a mirror. But that isn't what she looked like anymore. Now she looked however she needed to. But you'll hear about that later. This is about her past. We have to finish creating the past. Mara was part of the super soldier program where she met Gabriel Reyes and Jack Morrison. She was Soldier 32, and one of the only females to have joined the program. Despite this, she was one of the best and she helped with everything she could in the omnic crisis. Then in 2068 she was caught in that battlefield. There was a tough battle and she had stayed to try to help another soldier. To many good people had already died in front of her. She wasn't going to lose anyone else. She had already lost to many people. It didn't matter though. A new type of omnic arrived and she gave her life to stop it. To save one soldier and thousands of bystanders. How can this story be about a dead person though? What do you mean she died? She lived. But her life changed, and that can mean giving up the one you already have. When she took it out a power surge device dropped. It would've taken out power within miles of it, and innocent lives would be lost. So, without thinking Mara threw herself onto it. After it detonated no one saw her again.

She didn't die. Not entirely at least. Mara Pendt, Soldier 32, hero that gave her life was still there. But now there was someone else there to. Glitch was born that day. She and Mara were the same person. But Glitch would glitch whenever she wasn't focused on staying whole. Lena Oxton, now going by Tracer, needed a chronal accelerator to stay in this timeline. Glitch needed something similar, but more suited to her problem. Whenever she wasn't focusing on keeping herself together she'd start to glitch like a computer screen. She couldn't touch anyone, no one could clearly hear what she was saying. It was torture. Copying the tech was easy, and she wore it on a small wristband on her left hand. It took her a year to get the hang of her powers and perfect her bracelet. She was going to Overwatch. She was going to find Jack and Gabe and she was going to make thing right again. She was going to pick up where she left off with Gabe and everything would be fixed. And then the Overwatch headquarters blew up along with everything she'd loved.


	2. Chapter 2

Present day

Glitch was on her way to her home when she got an alert on her phone. Looking down she saw what day it was and started running to her house. It was Halloween and kids would start coming by her house in about an hour. She had a reputation for giving out the best treats, but only until nine o'clock. After that she went back into her house and no one bothered her. She was the only one who knew what happened then. There were rumors spread by kids that she was secretly a witch, but a good one. Other people said it was because of some sort of anniversary. Those people were partially correct. After nine o'clock on Halloween Glitch retired to her house to get ready for Día de los Muertos. The day of the dead. She had done so since the explosion of the Overwatch headquarters all those years ago. This is how she honored Jack and Gabe. Gabe had introduced it to her one night in the barracks. But she didn't focus on that. She wasn't ready to hurt quite yet. She had to get through the day without showing any pain. When she arrived at her house Glitch unlocked the door to a strange sight. Her house was rigged with small led lights to tell her when her tracking system picked up movements by an organization called Talon. They had been the ones to blow up the base, and she would track their every move. One of these days she'd get a step ahead and get payback. Normally they weren't very active around holidays, but here she was, tracking one of there ships to the nearby city, Numbani. Whatever they were after, they couldn't be allowed to get it. Día de los Muertos would have to wait until she could stop them. They wouldn't reach Numbani until tomorrow though, so she'd still give out candy. A scream at her door alerted her to the first of the trick or treaters. It was already six thirty. Glitch wouldn't have time to change into a real costume. Instead, she focused on changing her appearance, and after a few glitches, she looked like she had dressed up like vampire, complete with a little charm bracelet on her left wrist that looks like it was made out of blood. It wasn't super original, but she needed to last for three hours as a different race in a costume that wasn't real. Maintaining a glitch was hard work. She answered the door and the kids swarmed her. If there was one thing about living how she did that she loved, it was the kids. They would come to her all the time, because she would lidsten to them, and really care about them to. She was like a parent to all of them. None of the parents liked her because they thought she was irresponsible and weird, and they didn't trust her. Kids told her everything, and she relayed it to no one. They knew she couldn't if she tried, but they also knew she never would. What they didn't realize was that she was also the biggest liar. She wasn't even black. But blending in with the locals was crucial. No one could recognize her. For now, she just gave out candies and small toys to the oblivious children

It was just after nine o'clock, when all the kids stopped coming by. Something was off. Glitch didn't use to much electricity when she was outside handing out candy, but it was too dark inside her house. It was a different kind of dark. Like a shadow creeping in the room and consuming everything in its path. Her computer room was just a little bit away and that's when it hit her. The led lights were off. They should've stayed on while tracking the ship. Someone else was there. After a quick glitch she had blended herself into her surroundings and she took out one of the tranquilizer darts she kept with her. Just the dart, no gun. Her aim was terrible, and she preferred to fight hand to hand anyway. All she had to do was wait for her uninvited company to reveal themselves. They formed closer to her than she expected, and she almost blew her cover when it happened. The only thing that stood out clearly was the white mask they wore over their face. And the glint of two silver barrels on… shotguns. This wasn't just a robbery. She was being hunted. The figure started moving towards the back door to the little gazebo in the backyard. It would be a good hiding place, but not one she would choose. This guy knew nothing about her, so at least she hadn't been tracked for long. While the mysterious figure gave himself a tour of the backyard, Glitch went to the computer room. The ship had turned around. It was a trap. Talon knew she was there, and now they were going to take her out. Well, they were going to try. Creating a new identity and faking her death wasn't going to be easy, but as long as this guy couldn't say she was alive she'd be fine. First she needed to find her mistake though. And that meant catching the killer. Stalking towards him in the grass was hard, but luckily a few stragglers from trick or treating were being plenty noisy to cover her footsteps on the damp grass. The Talon assassin was standing in the gazebo, right next to the altar she had set up for Gabe and Jack. Holding the picture of Gabe. Staring at it. Glitch threw the dart before she had realized it. It went through him. Like smoke. This wasn't just anyone. He was going to demolish her. She'd need her strength for the fight ahead, so she undid her camouflage in a quick glitch. It was much harder to keep changing to match her surroundings than it was to just change race. "Put. It. Down." she growled. Glitch didn't know who was more surprised. The assassin at her sudden appearance, or her at the tone in her voice. He said nothing but put down the picture slowly. The layers of fabric made his body language hard to read, which was most likely the point. Then he slowly pulled out his two shot guns. "Any last words?" he asked. The only thing that came to mind was the first words Gabe had ever said to her. "Lo único que te detiene es el miedo".


	3. Chapter 3

"What?" Mara asked. She had just finished getting her ass kicked by Morrison in combat, and the last thing she wanted to do was try to communicate in a language she didn't speak. Gabriel Reyes, Soldier 24, was chuckling at her. "The only this holding you back is fear. You're afraid to hurt Morrison. Hell, I think you're apprehensive about hurting anyone". "I didn't ask you to be my psychologist, thank you very much." She grumbled back at him, "And I didn't join this program so that I could sit and cheer everyone else on. I can fight".

"I never said you couldn't. You can't hurt good people. But almost all people think they're good. So, what are you going to do when you get onto the field and you have to fight? When you have to kill."

Mara grumbled and turned away. Hoisting herself onto the top bunk in a huff, she said, "Thanks for the check in doc. But if there's nothing else, I rather have what little fun I can while training is a bit more relaxed". And with that she was sitting on her bunk, right below an air vent. It had taken her awhile, but she almost had it completely unscrewed from the ceiling. Suddenly Gabe was on the bunk next to hers. The bunks were in stacks of eights, and on course she got the luck on being Soldier 32. He could annoy her all the time. "Keep this quiet, and you can come." she said. "But where does it go?" he asked suspiciously.

"Outside, hopefully. Even if it doesn't the climb will still be fun."

She put the screws back loosely and climbed down to the floor. Gabe plopped down next her. "This is our secret, okay?" she said in a low voice. "Understood" he replied. They started walking back to the training area again and she asked, "Why are you starting to talk to me now? We've been next to each other for almost a month now". "I prefer to observe before I interact." He replied. Their conversation was cut short when Jack Morrison, Soldier 76, ran up to them. "Rematch already?" he joked, "I thought I beat you pretty good last time". Mara gave him a playful shove and started walking to the sparring mats. "You thought wrong I guess". Turning to Gabe, she said with a flourish, "Gabriel Reyes, will you do the honor of umpiring and recording this fight, so that I can lord it over Jack forever?". Behind her Jack laughed and said, "Be careful Mara, or you'll just give me the leverage I need to prove I'm the better soldier here". Gabe walked to the edge of the mats shaking his head. "You two are awful" he declared, "But seeing as Morrison needs to get a little less cocky, I will gladly ref this match". Mara stood directly across from Jack and got into a fighting stance. Her and Morrison started circling each other until Gabe said "Go!". Mara made no move, and instead she studied Jack. Faced with a tough decision, he decided to make the first move. He didn't land a single hit on her while she laughed. He attacked in the same pattern, whether he realized it or not, and all she had to do was wait. Using Gabe's strategy worked, but then he lashed out with an unexpected low kick. Mara fell to the ground, and Jack pinned her there. Their sweaty bodies were pressed together, and she could see his rippling muscled beneath his skintight shirt. "You gonna give, or am I going to knock you out and go somewhere else?". Mara made it look like she was still trying to get loose, but in reality she was positioning herself. After a few more seconds she said, "You know, one of these days you'll learn to stop talking so much" and jabbed her elbow into his ribs. He came off of her and she cringed, but Gabe was watching and if there was one thing she hated more than being wrong, it was other people being right. She had to finish the job, and fast. Jack was recovering. A quick low sweep and he was down. Then he was on his stomach with her on top of him, restraining his arms. Her knees dug into his lower back, and he tried to move, but she was to careful. "Fine, you win Mara" he grunted from beneath her. "Did ya hear that Gabe?" she called to the silent ref "I don't think I quite heard what he said". Seeing him shake his head in a silent mocking no, Mara leaned into Jack. "Can you say that a bit louder?". "Gabe was right, you're the worst" he sighed and then yelled, "YOU WIN MARA". Satisfied she left the disgruntled man on the ground and walked to Gabe. "Looks like your plan works. He leaves his ribs exposed". "¿Dudaste de mí?" he said playfully. Mara glowered at him. "If you're going to keep speaking Spanish, can you at least teach me? I have no idea what you're saying!". Gabe laughed and said, "Maybe later. For now, let's go to the practice range". And that's how everything started.


	4. Chapter 4

Lo único que te detiene es el miedo. Those were the first words he had ever said to her. How poetic that they would be the last ones she ever spoke. The two guns pointed at her wavered. They could've destroyed Glitch at any second. That little motion was enough to make her leap towards her nameless faceless assassin and try to land a hit. Smoke again. Then he was on top of her, with cold metal claws on her back. Her wrist band hit the floor and all of a sudden the world went into a static. She started to glitch like crazy and the man fell through her and onto the floor. Glancing down at her wrist she saw that clasp had come undone. Luckily she could still touch whatever was glitching with her. It felt like her body was being pulled in dozens of directions at once, and her vison was clouding over with pain, but she needed to fix the wristband. Seconds later she was stable again and the glitching had stopped. The dart she threw was right next to her and so was the assassin. He was staring at her like a hawk. Or an owl. The mask kind of reminded her of an owl. She loved owls so much that she got one tattooed on her arm. She unconsciously looked at where it was, not expecting it to appear, because the new her didn't have a tattoo. But it was there. While she was glitching her mask had fell. She was exposed. The assassin reached out for it and cold metal met her arm where the tattoo was and she glitched instinctively. Then she rolled and picked up the dart. She thrust it into his arm and was surprised when it didn't meet air. Now she had a blacked-out assassin that could turn into smoke to deal with. Great. Upon trying to get her veil back up, she saw she couldn't. Something must've happened to the wrist band. A few pixels here and there would pop up for a bit then fade. So now she couldn't go back outside, and kids would try to talk to her sooner or later. She had an estimated two days to fix it. Glitch fixed the altar and dragged the guy back into her house. She stocked up on tranquilizer darts for if he needed to sleep again and left him on the couch. Then she went to her bed and slept.

There are a number of things that people usually don't do when they first wake up. For example, one would not normally wake up and run a marathon. They would expect to get up and change. After that they'd eat and warm up a bit before running. They would not expect to get up and start sprinting as soon as their feet hit the floor. Glitch did not expect to find a piece of glass buried into the arm of a masked assassin before she opened her eyes. But here she was, a shattered picture frame on the ground next to her bed, holding two inches of glass in someone's arm. Not what she expected. She pulled out the glass shard and said, "Go into the kitchen, there's first aid stuff there. Then we are going to have a chat". The masked man looked at her before saying in a metallic voice, "I am a professional mercenary. I was sent here to kill you. You just stabbed me in the arm. And you expect me to just stay put and talk with you over breakfast?". "Yes, I do." She replied. "Besides, even if it wasn't rude of you to leave or kill me, you seem to be missing any form of communication. And it's going to be pretty hard to get a ride back to Talon from all the way out here". After checking all the pockets of a long black leather jacket. Then he scowled and stomped into the kitchen. Glitch followed him and started making some coffee. She set two mugs on the table and sat across from the mercenary. He was wrapping himself up, and pretty well to. You don't learn how to deal with wounds like that everywhere. Talon agents seemed to be untouchable, if this one was any indication. He couldn't have been hurt that much. So why was he so good at this. Shaking away the questions she held out a hand. "Let's introduce ourselves formally. I'm Glitch". The mercenary batted her hand away and said, "Reaper". Why did that voice sound familiar? She'd never met him before she was sure of it. "Well Reaper, I just want to get through Día de los Muertos without a hitch. That's all. After that you can kill me or whatever. Just let me go through this".

"That's it?"

"That is all, yes"

"You're just going to let me kill you? After the fight you put up last night?"

Glitch laughed at how gullible this guy was. "No Estúpido. I'm going to fight. But I really rather put it off until after Día de los Muertos. Don't you think it's rude to murder someone while they're celebrating the holidays?". She had finished her coffee and was now at the sink cleaning it. Reaper's mug laid untouched. "You going to drink that?" she asked. "Real food doesn't do much for me." He replied. "Well you've got to eat something" she said with a playful smile. "Souls." He replied very seriously. Glitch decided to humor him for the time being. "No killing anyone here" she teased. "You don't look Mexican." He observed evasively. "I'm not. It's a tradition a friend shared with me. It's how he'd want to be remembered". Glitch braced herself. She was about to enter very dangerous territory. "You killed him". The mercenary spun to face her. She didn't like it, but tears welled up in her eyes. "Maybe not you personally, but Talon. They killed him. The Overwatch headquarters was blown up, with him in it. He didn't even know I was alive".

"If he was your friend, then why didn't he? You make it sound like you were close."

"We were", she whispered. Tears were running down her face like they always did this time of year. "I wasn't always like this".

"Then what were you like?" Reaper demanded. "You don't just start glitching in and out of existence randomly one day."

"It wasn't random" she replied. She took him to the living room and flopped onto the couch like a whale. Then she told her killer what happened.

"It actually happened here. Not in this neighborhood, in the city. A few Omnics that had gotten to rowdy I guess. It was just me and four other people." She inhaled sharply. "They all died. A new type of Omnic came. The last person gave their life to distract it. They should've lived. I should've saved them. The Omnic dropped some sort of shock wave bomb or something. I'd seen one like it before, and they could cause a blackout for miles." Glitch swallowed at the memory. All the things that went through her head in the few moments before the device hit the ground. "There was a hospital nearby. Subway stations that relied on electricity to function. Traffic lights that kept cars from crashing. The death toll would've been awful. So, I threw myself onto it, crushing it. Two days later and I wake up glitching and not being able to communicate at all". Reaper said nothing and she got up. Before she could go about her business a question passed through the mask. "Why didn't you go to your friend then. Glitch laughed bitterly. "I couldn't get to the Swiss bays like this. It took me a year just to build this so I could get the glitching under control enough to go outside again" she said while holding up the wristband. "I was going to try to go to him, but you guys blew him up. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to try to fix my wristband that you so rudely broke so that I don't have to explain to the whole neighborhood why I all of a sudden changed race". She began to stalk off, only to turn around and jab another sleep dart into Reaper's arm. "Just in case" she said with a smile.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been almost a year since the super soldier program had started, and Mara was getting restless. They hadn't been able to see the field yet, and she hadn't been outside in ages. How the hell did Jack look fine next to her? He showed no signs of distress about being cooped up for so long. And Gabe… well he was Gabe. There was no telling what was going on inside his head. "I'm going to go to the obstacle course Jack. Wanna come with?". "Yeah, I'll join you in a minute" he replied. Mara smiled, knowing he needed to mentally prepare himself. The closest they got to outside was an obstacle course that was a part of the training center. Mara had mastered every part of it and enjoyed frequently destroying Jack and Gabe in races. She wandered off to get Gabe to join them. He was on top of his bunk, looking at a photo. "Jack and I are going to race. You coming?". He didn't respond, and that's when she knew something was up. Gabe would always say something snarky in Spanish, knowing that it agitated Mara that she still couldn't understand him. Instead of climbing onto her bunk, she clambered onto his and sat down next to him. "You okay?" she asked concern lining her voice. Normally he would've snapped at her to get off his bed. "It's my first year not celebrating with my family" he said solemnly. "Celebrating what?" she pressed. "Día de los Muertos. The day of the dead. It will take some getting used to. Not celebrating". Mara pressed her lips into a thin line. A million ideas darted through her head at once. Gabe deserved so much better than this. And she needed to get out of this place. She picked up his dark grey hoodie from the foot of his bed and tossed it at him. Then she tackled him to make it look like she was playing to anyone who might be watching them. What was about to happen had to stay secret. Gabe let out a muffled cry a surprise. This was the closest they've ever been outside of hand to hand combat. She said in a low voice "I'm going to race Jack. Then tonight I'm taking you out of here and we go get whatever you need to celebrate. Like it or not, this is your family now Reyes". She pushed off of one very stunned super soldier and then jogged to the obstacle course. Jack was waiting for her with a lopsided grin on his face. "Thought you finally quit and decided to admit you cheat." He said stonily, but he had a sparkle in his blue eyes that showed him he was playing around. She ruffled his golden hair and countered with "You wish I was cheating boy scout. At least it would make you look less pathetic when I destroy you!". With that she started sprinting to the starting line, and Jack faked anger at her "false start". "At least let me beat you to the starting line" he called from behind her. "Not a chance, Morrison" she said. They lined up and took off, rioting the entire way. He got ahead of her on the hurdles, but then the climbing came. There was an assortment of different walls to climb, each replicating something they might have to climb in the field. Jack had chosen what they had to climb, and he made the mistake of choosing a plain old rope. Mara quickly gained the lead and stayed ahead of him for the rest of the course. "Looks like I win again" she stated from the finish line. They joked all the way back to the bunks when Mara said, "I'm going to turn in". Jack looked disappointed, but only shrugged. "If that's what you want. If you change your mind I'll be at the practice range. "You know a blind man missing and arm would be more accurate than I am" she said. Jack cracked a smile and said, "I know". Mara gave him a playful shove and walked to her bunk. Gabe had already gone to sleep. It was nine fifty-five. She'd give him five more minutes and scout the area for anyone who might be awake. Then they were breaking out.

The coast was clear, and Mara shook Gabe awake. He sleepily opened his eyes and grunted. "Pendt, this better be good. Otherwise, I'm going back to sleep". Mara rolled her eyes and grabbed his arm so that he couldn't roll back over. "I can't get supplies to celebrate a holiday that I've never celebrated before." She said. "Now be quiet and get your hoodie back on. It's chilly." Reyes grunted again but surrendered to her nagging. She hoisted him silently onto her bunk and removed the vent from the ceiling. The opening was large enough for both of them to get in one at a time. With practiced skill she led Gabe through a series of ventilation tunnels until they were in a little cabin in the woods. Most of the base was underground, so there wasn't much to look at here. She took him to a small road that led to a little town. There were a few stores still open, and she pulled out a wad of cash. "How did you get that?" Gabe asked suspiciously. "Relax tough guy, it's not stolen. After finding this place I snuck out about once a month to do some odd jobs. I've got about a hundred dollars here. Hope that's enough to get what you need". Gabe nodded and they went around town, buying a variety of small things. It felt nice to just be a normal person again. They laughed, and Gabe told her random facts about his culture. They strolled back to the base and smuggled their goods down the ventilation system. When they got back on her bunk Gabe looked around and sighed. "We can't make too much noise" he whispered to her. "Did you by any chance find a table while you scouted the area?". Mara shook her head but said, "It's okay, we can use my bunk."

"And where will you sleep?" Gabe inquired.

"I'm sure Jack would let me crash with him for a few days" Mara responded. "Unless you're okay with sharing a bunk with me."

Gabe smiled softly. "It would be more practical" he thought aloud.

Mara smiled and they set up an alter for Gabe's loved ones that had passed on top of her bed. He had brought a picture with most of them in it. "Anyone you want to add?" he asked her when they were done. "No, this is your tradition, not mine. I don't want to intrude". Gabe gave a warm chuckle and started to light the holographic candles. "Nonsense. You said it yourself. We're family now".

"I don't have his picture though. Will a sketch work?"

"In case you haven't noticed, this isn't a very traditional celebration. A sketch will work just fine."

Mara took out a sketch of her brother and tears pricked her eyes. He meant the world to her. He didn't deserve to go the way he did. "Who's that" Gabe asked. "My brother. He died in street fight. Intervened when someone tried to mug a passerby". She propped up the sketch on the makeshift altar and leaned onto Reyes's bunk to look at their work. She couldn't bring herself to look at Gabe. It wasn't good to let others see weakness. It made you vulnerable. But here she was, silent tears crawling down her face. God she was pathetic. Mara felt strong arms wrap around her and a muscular body lean into her slim frame. She leaned into the hug wishing she could turn off the tears. But they flowed like a steady river down her face. After a few minutes Gabe extracted himself from the soothing hug and reached for a white paper bag from their little stash of supplies. He took out some sort of pastry Mara didn't recognize and broke it in half. Mara took her half and looked at it like one might a little kid's drawing. It was a nice gesture, but she had no clue what to do with it. "Don't tell me you've never had a churro before!" he exclaimed. "That's it! You have to eat it right now. No arguments". Gabe took a bite of his and Mara slowly and cautiously did the same. Sweet cinnamon and sugar mingled with her taste buds in a burst of flavor. A crunchy shell was countered by a soft doughy inside and everything mixed together perfectly in her mouth. She was torn between eating it as quickly as physically possible, maybe faster, or enjoying the flavor while she still could. Gabe grinned at the expression on her face and she elbowed him in the ribs. "Can it, Reyes" she said through another bite of churro. A few bites later and the churro was gone. They both laid back on the bunk and just savored each other's company. She leaned into his dark gray hoodie and sighed. "Is he why you joined?" he whispered gently. Mara glanced at the drawing on her bunk and nodded a little. "It went farther than I thought it would. I was just going to join the local police force. Clean up the streets a bit in his honor. Kind of led me to joining the military and then to joining this. Don't want anyone anywhere else to go through what I had to". Tears pricked her eyes once again as she stared at the marigolds surrounding her lost bother in a coat of warmth. More than anything she wanted him to come back. To kneel in front of her scraped knee and say everything would be alright. To fake being defeated by her horrible surprise attacks when she was bored. To take her to the animal shelter for her volunteer hours even though he was already busy enough. She wanted the person who would take her to the store and get her ice cream on the hot summer days to come back. But he was gone. He gave his life to help someone he didn't even know. And that was his fault. The only one Mara could see. He was to selfless. Her face was wet with sweet memories turned bitter by his death. Gabe's arms encased Mara in comfort while he gently whispered to her, "It's okay. It's okay" in a soothing chant. Their dog tags clinked together while they both dozed off together in his bunk. Mara had spent her life shutting people out. It was a defense. But laying in Reyes's arms she realized that it was time to let people back in.


	6. Chapter 6

Glitch was not going to take the chance that Reaper would go on a killing spree while she was digging stuff out of her closet. The last thing she needed was for half of the people on her block to go missing because some delusional mercenary sent to kill her thought he needed to eat souls to live instead of food. Despite the explanation, Reaper was still mad at her for putting him to sleep again. "What was I supposed to do? Just let a killer go unsupervised and assume no one would die?". Glitch couldn't take the chance that the kids of the neighborhood would get hurt because of her uninvited guest. It would've been nice if he could at least stay out of her way though. She looked up from where she had been tinkering with her wristband and scowled. He kept looking at her tattoo and it was getting annoying. "Any questions or are you just going to stare at me the entire time you're waiting to kill me?" she snapped sourly. The mask only made things more infuriating. No emotion came through his body language, but his face could be revealing everything right now. "Just one. When can you control it?". Glitch knew he was talking about the glitching. It was a good question to. It wasn't wise to share information like that with him lest he used it against her, but Glitch didn't think it would come to that. She had a plan to answer a few questions of her own.

"When the wristband is working I can always control it. When I have it off I can't. And when it's broken like it is right now, I can't disguise myself. Which means I'm stuck here until I can fix it. I can glitch on cue, but I don't very often. It takes a lot of energy and hurts like hell. I hope you've been taking notes, because that's a lot of valuable information I just gave you."

Glitch leaned back over her wristband and closed it up so that it didn't get any more damaged. She had worked on it all day but was no closer to fixing it. She'd have to put it down for now though. It was finally ten o'clock. Daring to turn her back on Reaper for a few seconds Glitch walked into her bedroom and grabbed something from her closet. On her way to the gazebo she stopped in the kitchen and grabbed a paper bag. Then she was outside with no one but herself and three dead people. Gabe, Jack, and her brother. She slipped on her dog tags from when she was in the army and sighed. This time of year was always painful. The clink of the dog tags against her chest alone was enough to jostle up a whole flood of memories. She lit all the holographic candles one by one. When that was finished she took a churro from the small paper bag and split it in half. One half went onto the altar right next to Gabe's picture. She ate the other in silence. And Reaper watched the whole thing through the window, knowing exactly why she was celebrating like that.


	7. Chapter 7

Mara hung up more dog tags on the ever-growing wall of them. These belonged to such good people. Good people that were now dead. The omnic crisis was getting out of hand. She walked into a daze to the training area. Some fighting would surely help take her mind off of things. After a few fights she wasn't doing much better so Mara decided to take on her two hardest opponents at once. First she went to find Jack. He was at the practice range gunning down several targets. He went to give her a friendly wave but was cut short by the expression on her face. And the fact that her tattoo was showing. Mara didn't like having it out in the open and would wear at least a t-shirt to cover as much of the pale barn owl up as possible. But now she had on a tank top that showed it off to everyone she passed. Her hair was no longer pulled into a braid and instead just hung in a ponytail that was curled from all the years it was. "Mara, what's wrong?" he said as he approached her. She looked at Jack's perfect appearance and started to crumble. How could find the time to keep his golden hair so neat? How could his deep blue eyes not have the same haunted look in them? "We lost more" she whispered in pain. Jack put down his gun and walked over to her. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply to calm her emotions. He put an arm around her protectively. Maybe she did need protection. From her own emotions. They were clouding her judgement, and that could only end in more people she cared about dying. She leaned away from Jack and calmed herself. "Wanna fight?" she asked. He smiled as he let her go and said, "Glad to see you're getting back to being your old self. But you might want to fix your hair first. You always say loose hair give me an advantage". Mara laughed and dragged him by the arm out of the practice range. "You wish you could beat me in any fight! But as much as I don't want to give you an unfair advantage, it takes way too long to braid my hair tightly. Let's just get to it". A mischievous smile appeared on his face and he guided Mara to her bunk. "Why are we going this way" she asked him. Jack smiled at her and said, "I thought I could help you with your hair".

"In that case, let me show you something."

When they got up onto Mara's bunks she opened a little chest at the foot of her bed that all the soldiers had. It was to store personal items and things to keep the occupied when they weren't training or fighting. Not that it was often though. But Mara still managed to get her hands on a few things. Some drawing supplies, a book, and a ukulele. They were all from the little town she had visited with Gabe. She picked up the ukulele ad started strumming a relaxing tune. Jack sat behind her and got to work. "How long have you played?" he said, breaking the silence. Mara didn't stop strumming, but she answer with, "Since I was little. Just how I grew up". They both listened to the quiet strumming of the little instrument while he pulled at her hair. And for once all their worries could be forgotten in the peacefulness of it all.

A set of fingers snapped in front of Mara's face and only then did she realized that she had spaced out. Thinking of everyone that had been lost. "You okay Pendt?" Jack asked. Mara shook her head and leaned into him. He was still there. He hadn't died. Someone she cared about was still alive. Her hair was now in a tight Dutch braid instead of its usual plain one. It wrapped from her right temple and wrapped around her head to fall onto her left shoulder. It was more intricate than anything she'd had in before. She leaned into Jack's arms while saying comfortably "Thank you for being here Jack. I needed someone to be here right now". He hugged her close and for a moment she just lay there in his strong arms, not a care in the world. Then she took him by surprise and tackled him into the bed laughing. "Don't think this means I'll go easy on you though!". Jack let out a whoop as they started slipping off the bunk. When they both safely made it to the floor he chuckled "Wouldn't dream of it Mara!". They walked to the mats and once again they were facing each other. The thought to invite Gabe never even crossed her mind.


	8. Chapter 8

Glitch had finally started making headway on fixing her wristband. She could now camouflage herself when she stood still. It wasn't much, but it was a start. "I need to go get some things from the store" she said to Reaper in the morning. "Stay out of trouble and when I get home we'll talk about the whole you trying to kill me thing". Her plan was to glitch into her surroundings whenever she saw someone. It was a cowardly move, but the only one she could make. She carefully stepped outside and locked the door to her house. She hadn't even crossed the street when she heard voices around the corner. She darted to the grass and froze. After a quick glitch she was out of sight. The two twins who lived next to her, Noah and Zoey, walked around the corner with an unfamiliar man. He certainly wasn't from around here. The little skin that was exposed was pale white. His face was concealed by a mask, or a visor of some sorts, but there were a few scars poking out. The two little siblings were leading him and talking. "We already asked everyone we know just like ya asked us to mister" Zoey whined. Noah nodded eagerly and added "There's not anyone here that you wanted to see". The man looked around the street and said, "Every person here?". It sounded a bit like he was talking into a can. Must've been the visor. Slowly both twins shook their heads no. "Miss Avery doesn't really take visitors this time of year" Zoey explained quietly. "Which house is hers?". Noah pointed to Glitch's house and the stranger stared walking to it. Noah grabbed his jacket and said again "She doesn't like people to bother her this time of year mister. Just wait a little bit more and-" he was cut off by the man lifting him by the back of his shirt. Zoey screamed. Before she could second guess herself Glitch had undid her veil and had revealed herself to the stranger. She had a deadly grip on his arm and the world's most dangerous voice. "Put. Him. Down".

The new guy dropped Noah on the grass and Glitch darted over to him and Zoey. "I know I don't look like me right now, but it's Miss Avery. I need you to go tell your friends I can't take visitors right now. Okay?". They nodded in unison and took off down the street. When they walked around the corner she turned around to a face full of gloved fist. She fell onto the sidewalk in a daze and blinked. Who the hell did this guy think he was? "Do you want to talk or not?" she spat at him. "You got rid of my lead" he growled. "Your "lead" was two little kids"

"They were working just fine"

"I think I've got a better lead than that."

"What is it then?"

"Stop terrorizing children and I'll tell you."

The man huffed and nodded at her. They crossed the street and Glitch unlocked her front door. The stranger moved to go inside but she blocked him. "You want in, you tell me your name". The man hesitated, as if pondering if he should tell her or not. Apparently he decided not. He shoved her into the wall with a lot more strength than was normal for the average person and stalked into her house, taking out a huge assault rifle. Glitch sighed and shook her head. This was going to be a tough nut to crack. She snuck up behind him and stabbed him with a dart right between the seven and the six on his jacket. He dropped to the floor after a few seconds with a loud thump. Reaper walked into the room to investigate the noise. Upon seeing the blacked-out man he flew into a rage. "The hell is this!" he demanded from Glitch. She shrugged calmly and looked him in the eyeholes of the mask. "A guy on the street. I want to talk to him, so I invited him in".

"Well, he has to go."

"I want answers. You guys are just going to have to play nice for a bit."

Reaper angrily shoved her out of the way and took out two shotguns. Before he could even finish raising them Glitch had tackled him from the side and pinned him to the floor. He turned to smoke and reformed behind her, staring down at the new guy. Glitch tackled him again, and the process repeated for a few minutes. He never tried to hurt her, which was rather strange. But he kept going to kill the man on the ground. Eventually Glitch got tired. But he kept going to kill the man on the ground., so Glitch decided to just dart him. She was running out of darts though, and now she only had four left. She'd have to use them wisely. It would be about five hours before the two men would be conscious again. Glitch sighed and went to get some more rest. She was going to need it.

The stranger was going to wake up in a few minutes, and Glitch was bored. So, she decided to stir up some memories and pulled out a ukulele. She sat on the couch of her living room strumming a little song on the small instrument for a few minutes. This is what the stranger woke up to. Glitch nodded a greeting to him without speaking and finished the last few strums of the song. Then she set the small instrument down and said, "You want coffee?". Looking dazed the man nodded yes and Glitch led him to the kitchen. She prepared two cups of coffee and set them on the table. Then she sat down across from the man. "You got a name stranger?" she asked. He looked at her and then removed his visor. Glitch's eyes widened in surprise and she held back a gasp. He was alive. "J-Jack?" she stuttered. His hair had receded and turned white, and his faced housed some new scars. But there was no doubt that it was him. Her jaw dropped but she managed to hide it behind a sip of coffee. "Yes. Mara is that really you?". Glitch cringed a little when she heard her old name. She shook her head and said, "I go by Glitch now". Jack gave an understanding nod. They both finished their coffee and Glitch got down to business. "Why are you here?". Jack looked up from his empty mug and studied her face. He then looked around the room and sighed. "God Mara. What happened? Everyone thought you were dead."

"I'll tell you later. When we have time to catch up. But I know you didn't come here to talk about the past with a dead person."

"Nothing gets past you does it?"

"No. Which is why I know you're trying to dodge answering. Why are you here?"

Jack looked around again and sighed. He could keep the truth from her no matter how hard he tried. And Glitch knew it. "We got intel that there was a Talon ship nearby. Though it went into the city but then it didn't make sense. Talon doesn't wait in unfamiliar places to long before striking, yet nothing has happened yet". He stretched out a bit before continuing. "I figured I should see if they had a contact or a base in a neighborhood out here". Giving nothing away Glitch explained to him how she's been tracking Talon movement. When she was done she stood up. "I'd love to catch up but I'm in the middle of something right now Jack. I won't be going anywhere though, so come by any time kay?". Jack nodded and she let him out. She called out to him, "See you, boy scout!". As soon as he was gone she bolted to her bedroom where she had moved Reaper. He was still asleep. She needed him gone soon, but not before she got answers. And if he was still asleep she could get one she was sure she wouldn't get when he was awake. Carefully she reached out and her fingers brushed against the mask. Reaper stirred and she halted. Before she could second guess herself, Glitch whipped off the white mask. She didn't see what was underneath. Black leather smashed into her face and she felt a metal claw scratch her temple. The mask was snatched from her hand and placed back on his face. Once it was in place Reaper took his hand down. Glitch trembled at what she was about to do, but she had to know what he was hiding before he left. "Take it off" she demanded. "No" he snapped harshly. It was time to take things into her own hands then. She leaped for the mask with a wild grab. He jerked his head away, but Glitch still knocked him onto the bed. After a few minutes of grappling they fell onto the floor, and she found herself in a situation she'd been in many times before. Someone would pin her to te ground, and she'd get the upper hand. Glitch feigned being just a little bit too weak and let the mercenary pin her to the ground. Then she took him down with a quick jab to the ribs. A few seconds later the mask came off, but he was smoke again. "Reaper turn solid again you coward" Glitch yelled. When he didn't listen, she dropped the mask and stomped down hard, crushing it. The smoke reformed in the corner and Reaper howled in rage. He drew his hood down over his face and backed away from Glitch. She grew much bolder and she ambled over to his dark form in the corner. Both of his hands slammed into her chest knocking her across the room and back onto the bed. Glitch just lay there dazed. Holy crap this guy was strong. Slowly a pain started to creep through her chest, and only then did she realize she may have just broken a rib or two. The pain only grew worse with time. Darkness crept into her vision with every passing moment, until she finally passed out.

When Glitch woke up her ribs had been wrapped in bandages. Her shirt had been cut away from the wound in a sort of makeshift crop top. Her dog tags were still on and the jingled against her chest as she shifted in the bed. She still couldn't move much but at least the wound was stabilized. That was a start. "Sorry about your ribs". Glitches head snapped up to where Reaper was standing. His hood was pulled way down over his face to conceal it. Was it really that bad? Reaper ignored her stares and moved to the side of her bed. Glitch tried to roll to track his movement but was too fast and ended up sending a jolt of pain through her side. Reaper came to her side and put his hands on her back to guide her up gently. Once she was up she whipped her head around. It was morning. Everything went down at around noon the previous day. "I put a sign on the door telling the neighbors that you were sick." Reaper explained seeing her worry. "Should keep them away for a bit". Glitch started to get out of the bed and two strong clawed hands pressed against her shoulders guiding her back down. "You need to rest. I'll get you something to eat". Her hands latched around Reaper's wrists before he could take them away. She carefully reached up for the hood. He didn't pull away. The black leather fell back off of his face to reveal yet another ghost. "Gabe?!"


	9. Chapter 9

I looked at him, a friend, until I realized I love him.


	10. Chapter 10

Gabriel Reyes had changed from the military. His face was crossed with unfamiliar scars. The once sun kissed skin had taken on an ashen tone and his hair had darkened to almost black instead of its usual chocolate color. His eyes were red on black instead of brown on white. But it was him. There was no doubt in Glitch's mind that it was him. He had survived to. "You're alive!" she said with tears in her eyes. He was alive. Her hand dropped from his wrists in surprise. Millions of questions welled up inside of her, but he held one claw up to her lips. "Sssh. It'll be alright niña ruda" he said quietly. She gave him a playful shove and smiled a bit. "You still never taught me Spanish ya jerk. Had to learn it all by myself" she joked. He chuckled and sat down next to her. They leaned together and simply enjoyed the others company. Eventually Glitch tried to get up again. It was slow going, especially because Gabe kept saying she should rest. "I'll be fine, your overreacting Gabe. Just let me get the mail and then it's back to bed" she insisted. Gabe finally agreed to let her do that much. "But if I let you call me Gabe I can still call you Mara" he pressed. She nodded and went outside. Walking was a pain, but she made in down her driveway and to her mailbox alright, and no one saw her. She made it inside alright and sat down at the kitchen table. Nothing interesting came in and she started to get up when an increasingly familiar pair of claws guided her back down. Gabe then put a plain bagel with butter down in front of her. "You don't have much food to work with, but I remember this is what you'd eat all the time when we snuck out for breakfast" he explained quickly. Glitch-no, not Glitch. Her name was Mara-giggled and gave him the best hug she could from where she sat in the chair. After wolfing down the bagel Mara stretched out completely forgetting about her injury. She winced in pain and immediately Gabe was at her side. "Calm down, I'm fine" she chided him. Using the wall for support she made her way to the back door. "Where do you think you're going?" Gabe called from the kitchen. "Just going to relax outside for a bit Reyes" she said. She made her way outside and all but collapsed into a hammock. Her ribs were killing her. Gabe must've set it up for her because there were pillows in it and her ukulele was nearby. She got comfortable and started strumming gently. The world melted away with the peace of it all. A breeze blew through rustling the leaves. One fluttered into her strings and she had to pause to get it out. That's when she heard the muffled gunfire. Then combat, definitely hand to hand. Someone was fighting Gabe in her house. They were both in danger.

Mara stumbled into the house as quickly as she could, but her vision was already being clouded with the pain of her broken ribs. She was moving way faster then she should be in this condition. Still, she opened her backdoor to Jack and Gabe fighting on the ground. Their guns lay nearby on the floor and there were bullet holes in the walls. The front door was thankfully closed, but neighbors would be by any second to investigate the noise. She picked up all of the guns and tossed them to the side. Then she did the most stupid thing she possibly could have done. She threw herself right into the middle of the fight. Both men were still fighting but the extra opponent stunned them both just long enough for her to get them on opposite sides of the room. "Both of you stop!" she yelled at them angrily. She was not going to have her two best friends kill each other, especially not in her own house. Jack looked at the bandages peeking out from Mara's shirt and flew into a rage. He attempted to launch himself at Gabe only to have Mara jab him in the ribs. "You still have the same weakness Morrison. Learn to cover it up" she growled. While he was recovering she did her best to walk over to Gabe. Tears shone in her eyes from what she was about to do. She dropped her darts on the floor, pretending that they had been lost in the fight. Then she was back in his arms. "Gabe," she whispered "I need you to get out of here. You can't come back. I'll find you again, but right now you need to leave". He opened his mouth in a silent protest, but she silenced him and took off her dog tags. Then they were slipped around his neck in a silent promise and she got up. She'd have t face Jack to give Gabe time to escape. Before she could turn around she felt a sharp prick in her arm. She looked down and saw a dart in her arm. There was one in Gabe's to. Her vision clouded over with darkness. She was faintly aware of someone catching her before she could slam into the floor. She might have called someone's name, but she didn't know who's if she did. Then nothing.

Mara did not wake up in her own house. She wasn't sure where she woke up. There were no windows, so no way to tell the time of day. After a quick survey of her little room she saw a door. Promising. It was locked though. Even though her ribs screamed at her not to she still kicked at it. After four tries it came down. Jack was already in the hallway to investigate the noise. Still no windows. Mara looked at all the closed doors. Gabe was behind one of them. Jack stopped her from going any farther though. She was still to drained from everything that had happened in the last three days to resist him. He led her back to the room and sat her down on the bed. She didn't want to, but Mara broke the silence. "Where is he?". They both knew who she was talking about. Jack shook his head a little. "Mara, I don't think you should-"

"Where is he Morrison!" she lashed out at him. She needed to see that he was okay. She just got him back. She wasn't about to lose him again. Jack sighed and took her outside. She used the wall for support rather than him. While he led her to Gabe's makeshift prison he tried to talk to her. After getting no responses he grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her to face him. "Look Mara I know you're mad at me right now, but you have to listen to me. This isn't the man you once knew. He's changed. He works for Talon now". There was concern in his voice that made her consider his words carefully. He was right. Gabe had changed. But she refused to think that the man she once knew was gone. She gave Jack a hug and said, "I know he's changed. But we all have. Just let me at least get some answers". He hugged her back and nodded. Then he led her past a few more doors until he unlocked one. Before she went in she asked him one more question. "Why did you attack when you did?".

"I was watching your house. You were in perfect health when I saw yo and then two hours later you're sick? Not very likely. Then you go to garb the mail and you can barely walk. I wasn't going to have you get hurt."

"Jack," Mara said quietly, "Why were you watching my house?"

Jack's eyes turned cold and he shoved Mara into the room. She fell onto her ribs and pain shot up her side. "Because I knew you were hiding something. I didn't expect it to be him though". He put his visor back on and turned away from her. "I can't lose another friend to Talon Mara. I'm not giving Reyes the chance to take you away". Mara glanced around the room and didn't see Gabe anywhere. She screamed as Jack closed he door. "WHERE IS HE JACK!". She pounded on the door as hard as she could. It didn't budge. Her ribs were screaming at her to stop and she did. But she still howled through the door. "JACK HE SO MUCH OF IT IN HIS SYSTEM ALREADY! IT WON'T BE A FAIR FIGHT! HE MIGHT NOT EVEN BE AWAKE, JACK COME BACK HERE! GET BACK HERE AND AT LEAST TALK TO ME! JACKAREYOULISTENINGLETMEOUT! JAAAAAACK!". She was frantic. It felt like hours before she settled into the corner of her prison. Then she slipped back into a familiar darkness. She never heard Jack come in and take her to the bed. She didn't hear his apology. And she most certainly did not realize there was a vent in the wall.


	11. Chapter 11

Her nightmares had been getting worse. Every day good men and woman gave their lives to stop this war. Mara just wanted it to end. Her bunk lay vacant. It was too close to the wall of dog tags. Most of the time she would be at the obstacle course. If it weren't for Gabe she'd never remember to eat. He was the one who finally convinced her to sleep. He was also the one to hold her down when she inevitably failed. She'd wake up screaming and fighting anyone who got to close. Gabe was the only one who could hold her down and keep her quiet. As long as he was there everything would be fine. Mara had just awoken from a particularly nasty nightmare. One where Gabe didn't survive. She was trying to scream but there was a hand over her mouth. She tried to fight, but her arms were held in one hand behind her back while the rest of her body was pinned to the mattress by Gabe's. If she was thinking straight she could have easily thrown him off. Gabe. He was alive. It was fine. Everything was fine. Slowly she stopped struggling and the scream died down in her throat. He peeled his hands away from her body slowly just in case she tried attacking again. When it was clear she wouldn't he sighed and rolled off of her and onto the bunk. He didn't leave though. Mara didn't ask him to. She was the first one to break through the silence. "Time check?". It's what she would say when she didn't know the time but wanted to sneak out with him. They'd go to a little coffee shop that was open 24/7 and just be normal for once. Gabe shook his head and pulled her close to him. "Not today niña ruda. Sneaking out isn't the best idea tonight. You need rest". Mara sighed and nodded. She was dead tired but didn't want to show it. Sleep wasn't her friend right now. Gabe saw through her horrible acting though and rolled her to face him. "Why don't I stay with you until things get better?" he suggested. "That would be nice" she agreed. She tried to wiggle over to make some more room for him, but their dog tags got stuck together. They both laughed quietly while they untangled themselves. It took awhile but eventually they were free. Mara felt their bodies press together and couldn't help but sigh. Gabe was there. Everything would be alright. That's all it took for her to sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

The nightmares were back. Mara had stopped getting them ages ago, but now they were back. The bed she was on didn't last very long. Neither did her screaming. Because all of a sudden smoke slithered into her prison and she was transported back to the bunks. Gabe was on her back, although he was favoring her right side where she was hurt, holding her hands behind her back. She noticed that he had hands again instead of claws. Jack must've taken them off. Mara was still wild as ever. Gabe didn't wait for her to clam down though. Anyone could clearly hear Jack's footsteps coming to investigate. "I'll get us out of here Mara" he promised. Then she was alone again. Jack opened the door and took in the scene. What he saw was a frightened Mara, a broken bed, and punch marks on the walls. He didn't see Gabe. Mara had curled into a ball and was rocking back and forth. Jack knelt beside her carefully so that he didn't startle her. "Mara are you ok?" he asked apprehensively. She looked at him like he was a stranger. Then slowly recognition poured into her face. "Nightmares" she replied frostily. Jack sighed and leaned against the wall. "Look, I know you're mad, but he's changed. That isn't Gabriel Reyes. I want it to be, but it isn't. Mara he's killed so many innocent people". Mara trembled with rage. "You think I don't know that!? I need answers Jack! I need to know why he turned. Then I need to find out how Talon found me so I can go back to how things were a few days ago". She turned to Jack with determination in her eyes. He already knew what she was going to ask. With a sigh he agreed. "But I have to be in the room in case he tries to attack you. I swear you'll be the end of me. But first things first, you need to get healed". Mara recognized the biotic field from her time in the military and was relived when the pain in her ribs left. She nodded when she was all healed and Jack picked her up. Then he covered her eyes. "What's this?" she demanded. Jack chuckled as he took her to wherever he was keeping Gabe. "I'm making sure to cover up my tracks princess. I know how much you like to memorize escape routes. Can't have you leaving with out me knowing". Eventually he carefully put her back on the ground and uncovered her eyes. They were already in Gabe's room and Jack had just closed the door behind her. No way to tell where she was. Fantastic. She wandered over to the corner that Gabe was in carefully. She sat down with crossed legs leaning against the wall. He looked up and saw Jack. "Why is he here?' he growled lowly. "He insisted on coming. I case you attacked me".

"Well I insist on him leaving."

"I wan answers, and he isn't going anywhere."

"What do you mean you want answers?"

Mara looked down to avoid meeting his eyes. She probably wasn't ever going to see him again anyway. Who cares what happened here? He'd forget her soon. "Are you really part of Talon now?" she asked quietly. "Have you actually killed innocent people for them?". He looked troubled. Halfway between telling the truth or a lie. "Yes" he finally said. She closed her eyes to hold back tears. He tried to move closer to her, but she shied away. "Mara listen" he pleaded, "I know you're mad but-"

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS!" she roared. She used the wall to get up from the ground where she had sat behind him. "HOW COULD YOU BREAK DOWN EVERYTHING WE FOUGHT FOR!". She gave a shudder and suddenly her rage turned to sorrow. "Good people died Gabe" she sobbed, "They died and you're destroying their legacy". He reached for her again only to have his hand slapped away. Then Mara tried to lunge at him. Before she got far Jack grabbed her and started dragging her from the room. She struggled until he punched her hard enough to almost black out. "That's enough for now princess" he murmured to her while picking her up. His hand went back over her eyes and after awhile he dumped her on the mattress of the bed she had destroyed. Then he kissed her on the forehead and said, "Get some sleep Mara". Sadly, she couldn't.

She was there for three days. Wherever there was. The first two she tried her best to sleep, only to be awoken by the nightmares. By the third Jack had stopped checking to see what was going on. It would always be Mara screeching and fighting some invisible ghost of her past. This is what Gabe took advantage of. Mara was attempting to sleep again. She woke up without even getting a chance to scream or fight. Gabe had gotten his claws back and they pricked her arms while he pinned her to the mattress. She tried to yell for Jack, but her air was cut off by something she never expected. Gabe kissed her. She stopped struggling out of surprise and he flipper her over onto her back. She was pinned to the mattress by his body. That's when she realized it was a trap. Mara tried to pull away, to fight, but he just pressed harder into the kiss. His clawed hands dug into her arms. She tried to position herself to get the upper hand. Only Gabe knew how she fought. He adjusted his body to cover any weak points from her. She couldn't break away from him at all. He threw both her wrists into one of his hands casually and his free one flew to her throat. Sparks were dancing in front of her eyes. Her breath was getting shorter by the second. Knowing she couldn't waste any air Gabe pulled away and whispered to her, "Told you I'd het us out of here. Just never said how". There is a second between unconsciousness and death when you're choking someone. Thankfully he knew when that second was, and he stopped before Mara completely suffocated. It was back to the senseless world for a bit longer.

When Mara woke up she was blindfolded. She tried to at least sit up only to find her hands and feet bound. There was a piece of cloth tied around her mouth in a gag. So no sight, no fighting, and no calling for help. She was pretty sure she was in some sort of vehicle that was moving, so there was a start. After struggling for a bit longer she finally gave up on loosening her bonds. Reyes knew what he was doing. Suddenly the vehicle gave a rough jolt. Mara couldn't keep the groan of pain silent when she landed roughly on her hip. Footsteps came in her direction and the struggle to get free resumed. She felt sharp stings on her arms but ignored them. There was not a chance she was going down without a fight. After a few more seconds she heard his voice. It had that strange gravelly edge to it again. "You're opening the cuts back up". Obviously she couldn't respond, but her continuing struggle was enough to get the message through. That message was one big middle finger. She felt two claws lift her body into the air and she ceased her struggling on instinct. Then she was plopped into a chair and buckled in against her will. The gag came off but everything else remained in place. "You kept fighting in your sleep" he said. "Go to hell Reyes" she growled back. The last thing she wanted to do was talk to this traitor. She tried to glitch out of her bonds to no avail. Gabe chuckled from beside her. "Don't think I didn't know you'd try that little trick. All that band is good for now is keeping you stable". Mara grunted and squirmed in her seat. There had to be a way out of here. Maybe Gabe would let out a secret if she kept him talking. It was worth a try at least. "Where are you taking me?" she demanded. She got no answer. "Are you still here?" she said. Still no response. Whatever. If he wasn't there it would be easier to escape anyway. If he was, well who knows. That's when she realized the vehicle she was in had stopped moving. Not good. Her thoughts got more and more frantic as she tried to find a way to get free. She got desperate and brought her bonds to her mouth and started to chew. Rope. It was rope. Gabe must've been shorthanded, or else she'd be tied up in something stronger. After a few minutes she undid her hands and took off the blindfold. Her legs were next, followed by the buckle keeping her in place. Then she was hiding behind a stack of crates. There was a whip in one of them. Decent enough protection. She heard Reyes coming back with someone else. Their conversation was muffled, but it was slowly getting louder. They were approaching whatever she was in. Then a string of curses came from her right. Gabe darted in followed by a strange orange haired woman. She had two different colored eyes and weird purple clothes. He had dawned the mask again. It didn't matter to Mara anymore though. He could stay hidden for all she cared. A few more steps and she could get out behind them anyway. They took those few steps and a whip cracked at their ankles, tripping both of them. Mara was already running out the open door of the dropship she was in. There was no clear path for her to take so she just ran behind other dropships so her movement couldn't be tracked. There was a door close by and she dashed to it. Some guards tried to intercept her. They were all on the floor now. But of course, Reyes had to turn into smoke and stop her from leaving the door. Of course, he had to make it so that the only option was to fight. Of course, he had to take out the shotguns and shoot her arm and leg. Hold up. What just happened. Mara blinked at where the lower half of her leg was now shredded by bullets, and then at where tattooed rm once had been attached to her shoulder. She promptly fell over unable to support herself on her crippled leg. She tried to get back up, but it was pointless. He limbs were failing her, and Reyes's heavy boot came down on her back. She refused to black out. Even though the pain was telling her to give up. Even though she was slowly being surrounded by Talon operatives. Because giving up ensured her loss. Fighting at least gave her a chance to win. She needed to win. Mara looked into the place where Gabe's eyes would have been if he didn't have the mask on and cracked a smile. "So, slight problem" she said boldly. Her face was met with a steel toed boot.


	13. Chapter 13

The battle was getting really intense. As much as it exited her to finally be out in the field, she was still scared. Her and Reyes basically shared bunks now. She didn't want to lose him to. Which is why she didn't tell him. Her aim had improved enough that she could defend herself from a distance, but she still preferred to go close range. She was in the middle of ripping the wires out of an omnic's head when she saw one sneaking up on Gabe. He was preoccupied with another robot, so she dove in front of the one trying to get him from behind. She made quick work of it but knew she was hurt to. Couldn't let Reyes know. If he was distracted he'd die. She wasn't losing another friend. Her best friend. Nope. Couldn't let it happen. Gabe saw her fighting behind him, and they went back to back. Enough of the omnics were defeated so that they could duck into an alleyway to escape fire for a bit. Gabe contacted Morrison through the earpiece he was wearing. "This is Reyes. We need some more help over by the library. They're gathering around here. Might be looking for something". While he worked on getting backup Mara had leaned against the wall. Something wet fell against her foot and she looked down to see blood all along her abdomen. She grimaced. A few quick tears off her jacket and she had some makeshift bandages. Hidden beneath her shirt obviously. Gabe looked to her with worry in his eyes. Before he could even say anything she had picked up her gun again. "If they're looking for something we shouldn't let them have it" she said defiantly. He crossed his arms and blocked the alleyway with his muscular frame. "Mara, there is no way you got out of that fight without a scratch. I have to make sure it isn't bad. I notice your jacket has been mysteriously shredded. Where is it" he demanded. She shoved him out of the way and took a shot. An omnic now lay on the ground dead. She smirked at Gabe. "We can worry about injuries after the fight. Right now, we have a mission". Reyes shook his head and they went back to fighting. That's when she realized what the omnics were after. She saw a kid peeking out from the top window of the library. There were still people in there. Gabe was still nearby though. This was going to take some teamwork. "Reyes, cover me!" she shouted. While she ran to the library she saw omnics drop around her. But a few go into the library. She sprinted to the building faster than anyone should be able to. She screamed into her earpiece, "There are people in the library! Omnics got in and will be hunting them down. Someone get the hell over her! Reyes is covering me by himself!". After a bit of crackling she heard Morrison say "Understood. On my way with backup". Then it was back to the hunt.

Mara didn't try to cover her presence. If the omnics were focused on her they wouldn't be shooting the bystanders. That was a good thing. Remembering where she saw the face Mara climbed up to the second floor towards the window where the kid had been. The omnics got there first. They hadn't had time to kill anyone yet though. Mara roared and charged in. Her gun ran out of ammo, so she chucked it at the nearest robot. She crushed most of them before a few spots on the lower half of her back exploded with pain. She heard the noise of backup coming through the doors. Just a little bit longer. If she died, these people would follow her shortly after. That wasn't going to happen. She got back up and started chucking the closest objects at the attacking party. When she ran out of things to throw she broke a nearby shelf. The result was a few long splinters the size of her arm. Mara proceeded to stab some more omnics bad enough that they shut down. But there were to many of them. A child screamed and a baby started crying. Mara looked back. There were about three families and a handful of other people behind her. Elderly people, young children, moms and dads all caught off guard by the sudden battle outside. She wasn't about to let any of them get hurt. She stood in front of the civilians and whispered, "Stay low". That was the only warning they got before she launched herself at the attacking omnics. Two more fell before she was knocked to the ground. The omnics started moving in on the civilians leaving one to finish her off. Her head was spinning, but she still stood. She still fought. This got her tossed into a bookcase across the room. She had failed. She watched the few omnics she didn't destroy close in. A miracle came next. One by one they hit the ground, riddled with bullets. Mara looked at Gabe. He had a small squad of soldiers behind him. There were more outside. Everything was going to be alright. The people were safe. She fell over into a pool of her own blood. Wow that was a lot of blood. Had it all come from her? None of the bystanders were hurt, were they? Gabe walked into her vision. She still managed to smile. "So" she said, "Slight problem".

Mara had never felt so weak in her life. She couldn't even walk, and Gabe had to carry her out of the library. Her braid had turned mostly red from her blood and her uniform was shredded. They had won the fight though. The people she had saved were herded onto a separate ship to take them away from the war zone. She was carried onto the ship that took the super soldiers home. Jack saw her nearly dead body and his face paled. "Get a medic over here!" he barked. Then she was in the med bay of the base. Gabe was standing in the corner of her room. "Gabe?" she said confused. "Wasn't I just on the ship?". Gabe's eyes flicked to her bed and lit up. The hug that followed was the best thing ever. "Okay, Okay. Ow. I'm fine tough guy. How are the people from the library? I was laying in so much blood. None of them were hurt, were they?". Gabe chuckled at her concern. "How about you come back from almost dying before you start asking so many questions. But no, the blood was all yours". He got quiet all of a sudden. "When I first saw you, I noticed your tattoo. Barn owls are a symbol of death in my culture. I was suspicious that it was a sign from above that you were dangerous to all of us. But I think it meant you're a danger to yourself". Mara looked at him. How was she dangerous to herself? Seeing the question in her eyes he explained. "You protect others. I heard what you said. You were willing to give your life just so that there was a chance a handful of strangers would escape. You fought through seven shots in the back, a minor concussion, who knows how many bruises, and a nasty gash on your side that no doubt came from when we were fighting back to back. You only think of others". His hand rested on hers. "You're a good person. And that makes you the most dangerous one here".


	14. Chapter 14

Mara's cell wasn't bad. This was an outhouse. Not as many resources. There were only steel bars and two guards in her way. Her wounds had been closed. Apparently the orange haired woman, Moira, had kept her alive. It still hurt to walk on her leg, and of course it was hard to adjust to losing and arm. She still managed to pick a guard's pocket though. All she needed to do was get through the day's interrogation. Gabe was there and so was Moira. Mara was laying down on the floor staring at the ceiling. She didn't even bother facing them. Playing unconscious on the way to the cell was a good move. She knew how to get out. She also knew how to level this place to the ground. Just a little bit longer and she'd be out of here. "You going to cooperate yet?" Gabe asked. Mara rolled her eyes at his lame attempts to get her to talk. "No" she said nonchalantly. Then there was a heavy boot on her chest. This was new. She looked up into the mask that towered over her. "I'll break them again" he sneered. Mara just shrugged. "Go ahead. You've already shot my arm off my body. I can't use my one leg. You manipulated me into trusting you so that you could take me here, which I'm guessing was your real mission. Nothing"- Her voice broke and she cleared her throat- "Nothing could possibly hurt more than knowing the person you loved is gone. Not dead. At least then you have who they were before they passed. All I have is this warped image of you". He scowled and left her cell. "We're done here Moira" he growled, and they left. "Death isn't as bad as you think Reyes" she called after him. Ten minutes later she got to see if that was true.

Mara cursed to herself while she ran through the thin forest the Talon warehouse was located. She was careless and had let herself be seen. A Talon operative sounded the alarm. Now she was doing her best to outrun Gabe again. At least she managed to grab the whip for protection. An idea struck her while she took in the surrounding mountains. She had managed to somewhat fix her wristband and could glitch through things again. That made it a bit easier to fake her death. Her eyes darted around, searching for a good opportunity. There was a small cave nearby with an unstable roof. Perfect. She darted in and waited. Gabe took the bait. He came to the mouth of the cave, not quite stepping in. Mara cracked a smile. "See you on the other side Reyes" she said. Then the whip lashed out and the roof of the cave came crashing down. A howl of either pain or rage came from the other side. As far as he knew she was dead. That was what she needed. But for some reason it hurt like hell. She missed him already. After a few minutes she walked out of the rubble into the forest and stopped glitching. Stumbled a few feet. Fell. She got back up and fell again. She was exhausted. An explosion went off nearby from the base. Mara smiled to herself. The warehouse had been flattened to the ground. She had managed to at least deal a small blow to Talon. So, she just closed her eyes and figured death would come for her soon.

It didn't. she was still alive. And now she had a cyborg ninja trying to figure out where she came from. Apparently the Talon warehouse was near Nepal. The cyborg, who said his name was Genji, went to see what the explosion was and found her. Seeing as he saved her life, it seemed only fair that she apologized for immediately attacking him when she woke up. "So, do you think you could get me down from these mountains any time soon?" she asked him. He looked her up and down. Mara could tell just from his body language that the answer was no. before she could make her case he said "You at least need a new arm, and I think you'll need something to help that leg to. It takes time to adjust to cybernetic body parts. I think you should stay here for a little while longer". She grumbled and looked around their surroundings. They were still in the forest, but most likely a different part of it. A camp had been set up around them. There wasn't really anything to interesting. But the view was amazing. You could see the snowy peaks of the mountains surrounding the temple. It was nice at least. Genji was right. It would take some time before she could leave. "I guess I'll be extending my stay then".

Mara refused to leave the camp and go to the temple with Genji. The last thing she wanted was to allow more people to see her vulnerable. Even if they were peaceful monks. Mara hated feeling weak. Thankfully he seemed to have a good understanding of cybernetics, most likely from having to live with them. The days she spent with him consisted of learning useful tips about her new arm and the leg armor that helped her walk, training to use them, and where to find better ones should she need them. after about three weeks she was deemed ready to go out into the real world. She thanked Genji for all his help. "Is there a way to find you again, just in case?" she asked. "When we meet again it will be by fate's hand" he replied. After all he had done for her, Mara didn't have the heart to tell him she didn't believe in fate. She believed in doing things herself. Including reinventing her identity. She wasn't Mara anymore. She died with Gabe.


	15. Chapter 15

She was letting go of the past. There is no more aid it could give to this story anyway. She was Mara, Glitch, and now Whisper. She had changed. It had been almost a year and her reputation was building up quite nicely. A mercenary that did whatever it took to complete the job. Hard to find though. Exactly what she needed to get on Talon's radar. She had changed a lot. Mara now had bloodred hair. She had bought a new arm and leg armor made from carbon fiber and laced lights throughout them. She wore all black. Leggings, leather jacket, shirt. A bandana covered the lower half of her face and steampunk goggles covered her eyes when they didn't sit on her head. She had nice red combat boots the color of blood that had just started to dry. She ditched the wristband and had the stabilizer directly installed in the back of her neck. You could hardly even tell she was the same person. "Whisper?" came a voice from below her. This was going to be fun. Her reputation had finally built up enough for them to send him straight to her. "Who's asking?" she said from her perch. She was in an abandoned school gym. The rafters were a nice spot to just hang. "Scratch that. How'd you find me? Most people can't". An annoyed growl came from below her. "Technically I haven't found you yet. Show yourself" he demanded. Mara giggled and got into position. One great thing about her new arm, her aim was now nearly perfect. Once Gabe (She still couldn't think of him as Reaper) looked the right way he would be passed out on the floor in seconds. She spoke into the sound system she rigged throughout the place. "What did I do to make Talon send the infamous Reaper?" she mocked from her perch. He spun to face a corner of the gym, where her voice seemed to come from. Seeing she wasn't there he turned into smoke. He was coming up to the rafters. Shit. This was not part of the plan. Reassessing, Mara turned and showed herself plain as day. "So, what can I do for you almighty edge lord?" she said. "For starters," he rumbled "You can start taking things more seriously. Let's discuss this on the ground". Mara rolled her eyes but still obeyed. She leaped across the rafters and slid down a climbing rope, her gloves protecting her from any burns. Her stony companion just turned to smoke again. She sat down cross legged on a gym mat with a smile, hidden by her bandana. What fun his was going to be. She had been waiting for a rematch. "I'm here to recruit you for Talon" he said. Mara almost fell down in surprise. Her enemies wanted to recruit her. This was a golden opportunity. A quick contact with Jack and Talon would collapse. She would slowly rot it out from the inside. But Gabe would catch on if she accepted to eagerly. He was always too in tune with her emotions for her liking. Even if she was a different person now, she couldn't risk it. "And how do I know this isn't a trap? I didn't think it was a big secret that I've been a thorn in your side. Wouldn't put it past you to try to eliminate your problems". Gabe muttered to himself under his breath. Then he turned to Mara. "Okay Whisper. I don't feel like taking the time to explain Talon's motivations to you right now. Just come with me and I'll explain on the way".

"Nope"

"You really don't have as much of an option as you think. I'm willing to get my hands dirty"

Mara smiled and sprung up. Then she started stalking out of the gym. "I don't work with amateurs, sweetie. If you were really that good I wouldn't be able to interfere with your operations so much" she crowed. A claw gripped her right arm. She whipped around and clutched his arm with her prosthetic one. "Good night Gabe" she whispered while glitching into a vision of her past self. The tips of her fingers pricked his skin and he was asleep within seconds. She left him on the floor of the gym. Right now she had better things to do. Such as prepare for the trip ahead. And for when Gabe woke up. All part of the fun.

When Gabe did wake up Mara was ready. She had removed her goggles and bandana to reveal a fake face. Her skin was slightly darker, her lips a bit thinner and eyes a bit bigger. Just enough that he wouldn't recognize her. With one major change. "You're blind!?" he burst out surprised. She nodded and lifted an eyebrow. "Do you always greet people by listing their disabilities. Because I have my prosthetic arm and I'm lame in one leg. Hopefully that helps you. I decided to join you by the way. You clearly need my help". Reaper pushed himself up. His eyes bore into her. Not that she would actually know. That mask hid everything. But anyone could feel the stare from miles away. "I've her rumors of what you look like" she hummed, "But I can't really see if they're true. May I…". She stepped towards him and put her real hand out. "If it makes you comfortable, go right ahead" he answered. Mara felt around him. She acted like a true blind person and really acted like she was feeling every part of him. She got to his face and paused on the mask. It fell cool under her hand. "What's this for?" she asked as if she didn't already know. His head shifted in her hands. After completing his scan, he took off the mask. She felt his face. His scars were slightly puckered. But other that that and his new colors he looked just like he did when he was in the military with her. When he was Soldier 24. Not Reaper. "Hiding scars" she mused. "You hid your eyes from me" he said defensively.

"I wear my goggles to protect my eyes."

"I wear my mask to protect my identity."

"So, who are you then."

"No one of importance."

Mara turned to the door. She picked up a small duffle bag. "If you want to be like that, then fine. Just lead the way". Gabe put the mask back on and walked over to her. "Do you need me to help you or are you okay?" he asked awkwardly. She smiled at him. "I can make it just fine. I learn to adapt to my surroundings. It was sweet of you to ask though" she said with a wink. They started heading to somewhere, most likely another dropship. "You act a lot like people do. People who aren't blind" he observed suspiciously. "I wasn't always blind" she said. "Some eye disease or something. Surgery could fix it, but my parents didn't have enough money. I learned to adapt though". He nudged her a bit so she'd travel in the right direction. A comfortable silence fell over them. He was the one who broke it. "How did you know my name?" he asked. She gave him a look of confusion. "Everyone should know your name. You are the Reaper. Got to know who to look out for".

"I meant my real name"

"I don't know that though"

"You said it. And changed somehow"

"The stuff I used to put you to sleep can cause some wacky dreams. Probably just that"

Gabe said nothing and kept going. Eventually they reached a dropship. Mara got in and started feeling everything. She acted surprised when her hand ran over another person. It was the woman from the warehouse, Moira. "I'm sorry!" she squeaked. Moira gave her a once over then looked at Gabe. "Blind, eh? I could fix that real quick" she said. Mara didn't know who she was talking to but wasn't going to agree to being experimented on. "I'm good" she said quickly. Gabe helped her into a seat, but she pushed him away and managed to do the buckle herself. She let her eyes rest on a spot on the wall for the entire trip. When the ship touched ground, she hesitated until she heard the click of the others unbuckling. Then she followed them off the ship. Getting a little nervous she shyly took one of Gabe's clawed hands. She didn't bother looking at him. Blind people couldn't see anything. That included reactions of other people. He led her into to a Talon warehouse calmly. Looks like she had a new home.

She was back in a cell. Only a new type of cell. It was all walls. Walls that refused to shatter. And a vent in the ceiling she couldn't reach. All she had done was follow Gabe. When he turned to smoke and went through the vents she glitched and kept up her pursuit. Now she was stuck in a room trying to find a way to explain how she had gotten here. "I.. I um… just…" she stammered. "Cut it with the bull crap Mara" he said harshly. She was stunned into silence. "You faked your death right in front of me and now you decide to come back? You really though I wouldn't notice it was you? I lived right next to you for nearly six years! This is my home now. I'm not letting you destroy Talon" he rumbled darkly. Smoke rolled off of him and he looked like a demon. His eyes were blazing red behind the white mask. For the first time in her life Mara was genuinely scared. Gabe's eyes softened seeing the look on her face. Because despite all his anger he still wanted to protect her. He still saw her as the reckless soldier in the bunks. The one who always put others first. Mara had backed herself against a wall. They were underground so she couldn't just glitch through them and leave. A glitch could only last so long before it was too tiring to keep going. She was crying. What she had just saw confirmed her fears. Gabe was gone. He was replaced by this monster.

But then her fears were erased. Being stuck in this room wasn't much fun. Mara tried everything she could to escape. Ultimately she got to tired to keep going. Reaper- Gabe was gone- had smoked through the vents a long time ago. It wouldn't hurt to take a small nap before continuing her efforts. All that brought was more images. Nightmares of the Reaper. The one who took Gabe away from her. A few dents had appeared in the walls before she was pinned down. Not by claws. By hands. A sense of calm settled over her. She turned around. Gabe's face stared back at her. She can't recall a time she'd ever hugged someone harder. He started turning into smoke and she found herself crying out, "Please don't go!". He reformed on the bed beside her. "I can stay. I'll join Talon. But I've lost you twice already. Don't let me lose you a third time" she pleaded.

"Do you know how I knew it was you?" he finally asked.

"One to many lies that contradicted each other" she grimaced. It was a beginner's mistake. One she shouldn't have made.

"It was because even with your glitch on there was joy in your eyes to see me. You're the only one who looks at me like that anymore" he said quietly.

Mara didn't know what to say to that. Looking at her face Gabe seemed to make a decision. He tackled her into the bed with a kiss. A real one. Not a trap like before. His lips were a bit chapped and he was still dominant as ever. It ended all to soon. Gabe searched her eyes with his and said, "Would you really stay? It could mean fighting Jack. And I'll be honest, we probably aren't the best people on the earth. We hurt a lot of innocent people Mara". She looked at his face. The scars. His eyes. Did she want to stay? She had spent her whole life protecting others. Would she really change that now? She had been a mercenary for almost a year. She honored the people she killed. She could still do that here. Talon wasn't just fighting. There surely must be something they were fighting for. And if it meant Gabe would be there... she picture them. Side by side. After all these years she had found him. She would stay with him no matter what the cost was. She was done giving up her life to fight for others. Mara looked Gabe in the eye and whispered, "Yes".


	16. AN

I'm moving to Wattpad. This story will be coming over, only not complete trash. my other story will also be there, so check them both out. My user name will be OOCFFSW, so check me out :p


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